Cure for the Itch
by Oxygen
Summary: Deals a little with death/diesease. Vince remembers a sick little girl who saved the WWF.


Title: 

**Title: **Cure for the Itch

**Author: **Oxygen

**Rating: **PG-ish – deals with disease and death.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own stuff that isn't mine. I don't make money that isn't mine. It's simple, really.

**Author's Note:** Hey, I'm lame. This is all I changed, I just wanted to know your guys' opinion on whether or not I should add to the story.

Living life as a part of the World Wrestling Federation was getting more and more difficult. Whispered rumors ran rampant throughout the company, from the interns working at Titan to the backstage crew, even the wrestlers were growing uneasy about the current situation. The most popular story was that Vince was doing something that caused unrest in his very soul, something that he was being forced to do against his will, something evil.

Of course, in reality, Vince was just depressed. In his office, he leaned back in his chair and glanced around. Letting out a deep sigh, he realized that he saw nothing worthwhile. What's the point of all of this? he wondered. Day in a day out. Meeting after meeting after mind bogglingly dull meeting. Putting up with the recent surge of attitude in the company wore him down. He'd just finished talking to J.R. about releasing some of the talent. There's just too many of them, he had complained. He didn't envy J.R.'s position at all. Jim had to inform people when they were being fired. Sticking his hand into the mess that was his desk, Vince grabbed the first thing he felt and hurled it at the door. It was a small stuffed animal that landed with a thud, harming nothing on its flight to the door. Vince's secretary opened the door, hoping that everything was all right. Vince told her that everything was fine, and would she please toss him the stuffed animal on the floor? More lies, he thought. He could imagine her on her coffee break, gossiping with the other secretaries, saying that Vince had degenerated to stage where he was throwing things. Well, for once, she would be right. 

Vince looked down at the teddy bear smiling up at him. It made him feel guilty for throwing it and yet happy to see it again at the same time. He turned it over and read to himself the short letter pinned to its back.

_Dear Mr. McMahon,_

_Thank you for coming to visit me. It made me very happy. Also, I had a wonderful time at the show yesterday. Please say hi to the Rock for me, if it's not too much trouble. Thank you again,_

_Lilliana Marie Hudson_

Vince remembered the little girl with alarming clarity. Everything from the way her face lit up when he entered the room to the numerous needles and machines that she was hooked up to. She was a little girl in stature, but mature beyond her 13 years, something not reflected in the childlike letter and scrawl that was attached to the bear. But that had to be expected. The cancer ate relentlessly away at her brain. Such resilience and courage in one so small earned her a permanent place in Vince's heart, as well as many of the wrestlers who had met her. When Vince first saw her, he was carrying an armload of gifts, which Lilliana had eagerly looked over. She had made him sign a magazine for her older brother and ordered him to sit. There were tears in her eyes, some of happiness, some of worry.

"Mr. McMahon, please listen to me. I think somewhere inside, you must be a very nice man to be visiting me. It's not good to be mean and cold hearted. The world is too full of cruel people who are bitter and out to do harm to others. It's up to each of us to make a difference, even if it's helping a little old lady across the street. I will never get to be a little old lady. But I think you will grow to be very old, but if you don't change now, you will be a very resentful old man. People who are bitter are the world's most irritating itch. You scratch and scratch at them, but you can't get rid of them. You don't want to have regrets when you look back at your life. Can I ask you to do one more favor for me, Mr. McMahon?" He nodded, overwhelmed at her candidness about her disease. "Please, when you get home, talk to your son. Work out your differences. Say you are sorry and apologize to him. And forgive him. He's your son. Nothing will ever change that, and you don't want to lose him. Love him. For me?" It was then that Vince felt the tears roll down his cheeks, in the present and in his memory.

"Of course I will, Lilliana," he had said, taking her fragile hands into his. This had been unexpected, but had come at a time when Vince's character on television had been furious with Shane's character. And backstage, Vince really was upset with Shane. Tension had been building within the McMahon family, pitting parents against offspring over something petty that, now, Vince couldn't even remember. Vince took the little girl's words to heart. "I promise. The world needs more people like you." He was surprised by the short burst of cynical laughter that came out of her.

"Why do you say that? Dead people aren't any use at all." Vince was shocked.

"Lilliana, now you listen to me. I think you see yourself as already dead because of your cancer. But when I look at you, I see a girl full of life. But her mind has been poisoned. Not by some disease, but by bitterness at her situation. Now, the WWF is doing a show near here in about three weeks. And I fully expect to see you there, okay?" Lilliana nodded solemnly, and Vince made her pinky swear. It made him feel childish, but it also assured him that he would see her live for at least three more weeks. No one would ever dare to break a pinky swear with Vincent K. McMahon. Well, no one ever had, at least.

Vince went home that night and made amends with his children. Through her innocent acceptance of the WWF's world, Lilliana saved his company and his family. He shared the story of Lilliana with Linda, Shane, and Stephanie, describing every detail, every heart wrenching moment that he spent with her. The family grew closer; Stephanie and Shane saw a side of their father that rarely surfaced. But somehow, the mere mention of this resilient little girl brought tears to the man's eyes, and Steph and Shane saw him through newly opened eyes.

Back at present day Titan, Vince sank lower in his chair. He looked at the teddy bear, turning it over in his hands. Remembering the show three weeks later, he smiled. Lilliana had made it, but just barely. She was alive, with a spark in her eyes that told Vince that she would never quit living again. She had lost a lot of weight and was pushed around in her wheelchair by her older brother. He was her only living family, and he had introduced her to the world of wrestling to begin with. But on this occasion, his first chance to meet with WWF stars, he look a backseat to his little sister, something all the stars acknowledged and respected. Lilliana amazed everyone with her sharp wit and quick responses. Dwayne, the Rock, had told her that she would grow up to be a very sarcastic lady. For the first time that day, she didn't have a quick response. Vince was watching her, and knew that she was wondering if she would ever grow to be a lady. Her eyes dulled for a second, but she quickly shook it off. "You're right. But why be sarcastic when you can be cynical?" This evoked a laugh from everyone, for no particular reason.At the end of the night, Lilliana was driven back to the hospital by her brother. And in the backseat were four pairs of sunglasses (Rikishi's, Rock's, Undertaker's, and Christian's), Grandmaster Sexay's goggles, Scotty 2 Hotty's hat, Trish's hat, Jeff Hardy's shirt, Buh Buh Ray Dudley's glasses, three elbow pads (Matt Hardy's, Albert's, and Test's), Val Venis's tie, and a huge stack of autographed pictures. A lot of the stuff Lilliana had insisted on giving to her brother. Everyone was particularly generous with her because she had inadvertently saved the unity and stability of the McMahon family and the company, which were closely knit together. She also had three rolls of film with her, her brother, and the wrestlers in every picture.

Lilliana never got to see the pictures developed. The day after the event, her brother had gone to get them developed, and when he came back, he found her in a coma. Vince visited her as often as his work would allow. Eight months later, her brother called, telling him that Lilliana had left the physical world. Vince, Shane and Dwayne attended her funeral. Then next day, due to the ineptness that is the U.S. Postal Service, Vince received the teddy bear with the letter she had written just before she lost consciousness. Vince had thought he was drained of tears after the first time he read the letter, but they kept coming as her read and reread the letter. Vince flipped through his calendar and saw that Lilliana had hung on for exactly 21 days after the initial visit. Then he cried some more.

The man that had emerged from his office that day was a completely changed Vince. He threw himself into his work, especially charity. The amount of autographs and merchandise the WWF gave away increased three fold.

And now, as Vince cleared his desk to make room for the bear, he smiled. Grabbing a handful of tissue just in case, Vince walked out in search of Dwayne. He found the man walking out of Linda's office, where he had just finished filming a skit for next week's Raw. The Rock was feuding with a much gentler but still ruthless Vince. He grinned broadly when he saw his boss approach him with a matching grin.

"Hello Vince. May I ask you what has caused you to bestow your wholly remarkable smile upon a lowly wrestler like myself?" Dwayne exaggerated the respect he had for his boss, to the point where he was kowtowing needlessly.

"Why, yes, yes you can. That's what I wanted to talk to you about.

"Oh?" Dwayne raised a questioning eyebrow, glad that the rumors were false and Vince was smiling once again.

"Yes. I just wanted to tell you that Lilliana says hi." With that, he sauntered down the hall, whistling.

"I think the old man has finally lost it," Dwayne said to himself. "But it is nice to see him smiling again." He wiped away a single tear that had slid down his cheek and walked down the hall. He was lost in the memories of the girl who had saved the World Wrestling Federation, and continued to do so, even in death.

**In Memoriam – Nancy Lilliana Clavel, 1985 – 1998**


End file.
